ASSEMBLY OK’S GPS BILL NAMED FOR CARLSBAD MOM

Legislation would allow some domestic violence suspects to be fitted with monitor

The state Assembly approved a bill Wednesday that would permit judges to allow suspected perpetrators of domestic violence to be fitted with GPS monitoring devices if a restraining order has been issued against them.

The bill is named “Kathy’s Law,” in honor of Kathleen Scharbarth, a 34-year-old mother from Carlsbad who was killed in November.

Scharbarth’s ex-boyfriend, Michael David Robles, 43, was charged with murder in connection with her death. He later hanged himself in his Vista jail cell.

California needs to turn restraining orders into “real and tangible protections,” Assemblyman Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, said in a news release. Hueso sponsored the legislation, which now goes to the Senate.

The bill would still need to pass the Senate and be signed by the governor before it would become law.

If approved, Kathy’s Law would give judges the discretion to order GPS monitoring for suspects found to pose an immediate threat to an alleged victim and require those suspects to pay the associated costs.

The GPS device would be linked to a beeper provided to the victim and would alert when the suspect is within a certain distance or if the device is removed.

Scharbarth was granted a restraining order against Robles a week before she was killed, after saying that she and her daughter had been stalked. Scharbarth’s body was found in a remote area of Fallbrook two days after she was last seen at her Carlsbad condo.

Prosecutors said Robles hid in the bushes outside the home on Nov. 23 — the day before Thanksgiving — while Scharbarth was inside with her boyfriend. When she walked her boyfriend outside to his car around 11 p.m., Robles sneaked inside the residence and strangled her.

Avila said Scharbarth’s family, including her parents and siblings, have been “strong advocates” of the bill. Ginny Scharbarth, the victim’s mother, testified recently in front of the Assembly public safety committee.